Mikel Arteta has admitted that William Saliba’s injury setback has forced him to consider a new role for Declan Rice. Saliba missed Saturday’s disappointing 2-2 draw against Aston Villa after he pulled up during the closing stages of last week’s north London derby win over Tottenham.
Arsenal lost further ground on Liverpool in the title race, letting a two-goal lead slip to draw 2-2 with Aston Villa. There were more injuries for Mikel Arteta to deal with before the game when William Saliba was ruled out with a muscular injury. Jurrien Timber covered at centre-back for the first time, with Thomas Partey moving to right-back.
Arsenal's lack of squad depth was exposed as Aston Villa came from 2-0 down to draw in the Premier League on Saturday against an injury-depleted side at the Emirates Stadium
He was not even in the squad after suffering a hamstring injury in the 2-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in midweek. Read more at straitstimes.com.
Saliba will not be available for Arsenal’s penultimate Champions League group match against Dinamo Zagreb on Wednesday.
Villa fought back through goals from Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins to deal a potentially devastating blow to Arsenal’s title battle with Liverpool
Arsenal blew a two-goal lead and their Premier League title hopes took an almighty hit as Aston Villa fought their way to a dramatic 2-2 draw at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Aston Villa (kick-off 17:30). Here are the key lines from his news conference:
Dan: Forget Bukayo Saka's and Gabriel Jesus' injuries. I think White's injury has caused us more problems. Since he got injured, our defensive record has been quite poor compared to this time last season. Not only that, but he added so much more to our attack that I haven't seen from Jurrien Timber.
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